Jung Hoo Lee Allegedly Signs 6-Year, $113 Million Deal With Giants
The Associated Press reports that on Tuesday, the San Francisco Giants and outfielder Jung Hoo Lee reached an agreement on a six-year, $113 million deal.
The agreement includes the South Korean outfielder’s option to end his contract and become a free agency following a four-year tenure. That would take $72 million out of his pocket.
Lee hit.318 with 48 RBI and six home runs in 86 games during the previous KBO season. His season was cut short on July 22 due to a fractured ankle. After collecting 113 RBI, 23 home runs, and batting.349 in 142 games, he was voted rookie of the year in 2017 and earned the league MVP title in 2022.
An enormous victory for the Giants organization was signing Jung Hoo Lee. Over the previous two off seasons, the team lost out on players Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and Carlos Correa.
The Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO posted Lee on December 4. The Giants would be required to pay the Heroes a posting fee of precisely $18,825,000, or nearly $19 million, if the 25-year-old stays for the whole term of his MLB deal.
But if Lee chooses to back out, the sum drops to $12,675,000, and San Francisco would have to provide 15% more in earned incentives or escalators.
Lee is the son of Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s NPB and Haitai Tigers of the KBO, the 1994 KBO MVP. The younger Lee earned the moniker “Grandson of the Wind” as a result of his being dubbed “Son of the Wind.”
